Over the past years, many articles have been written in daily newspapers and periodicals, particularly in magazines, relating to the automotive industry, about the need for proper maintenance of an automobile. In fact, most of the auto manufacturers' warranties require periodic servicing in order for the warranty to be effective.
The dramatic increase in the cost of automobiles and auto parts over the past five years has made this need for maintenance even more apparent. That is, an automobile which is poorly maintained may require a greater number of more expensive auto parts for repair. Coupled with this need is the fact that many things can be done by the driver or owner of an automobile to maintain the automobile. Vehicle service performed by the owner obviously reduces service costs, representing a significant savings for the owner. Moreover, a properly maintained vehicle uses fuel far more efficiently, resulting in lower fuel costs for the owner.
Moreover, proper maintenance of a vehicle can enhance the useful life of many of the operating components. For example, proper tire care can result in as much as a twenty-five percent longer useful life for the tires. Likewise, it is well known that timely oil changes and lubrications will lengthen and strengthen the useful life of the engine and suspension.
In years past when service stations were truly service stations, and not simply dispensers of gasoline, some help was given to the motorist by attendants affixing to the car a pressure-sensitive sticker which indicated the mileage of the vehicle at which the next standard servicing functions should be performed, such as oil change, filter change, lubrication, and the like. However, with the demise of the service station and the rise of the gas station, said stickers are no longer affixed to vehicles.
Unless one keeps a specific notebook to which one refers on a periodic basis, with it constantly being updated to reflect auto mileage in a rigorous manner, it is almost impossible to remember or to be able to estimate properly that point when certain specific maintenance needs to be performed. Consequently, either the service is neglected with the inherent increase in fuel consumption and potential damage to the automobile and its parts; or a service is performed before it is required, resulting in unnecessary cost to the automobile operator. With today's high labor costs, such over service can be almost, as costly as that created by neglect.
With the rapid growth of electronic technology in recent years, particularly with components which are, in effect, tiny computers, many problems previously difficult or too expensive to solve can now be addressed and economically redressed. The application of available electronic expertise to create planning allows us the ability to develop products which, from a cost standpoint alone, would have been impractical just a short time ago.